00:02With the press of a button, these statues come alive.
00:06I keep all the costumes in my house and they take up a lot of space on the third floor,
00:13they really do.
00:13The all-white living statues have been part of every Deloraine craft fair for the last 45 years.
00:20But next year, they and the craft fair itself will take a break.
00:24Well, the Raja Club, the average age is 76. So, you know, we're getting old. It takes 12 months to
00:31put on.
00:31We'll start, you know, thinking about it again as soon as this one's over.
00:36So we just think we need to have a bit of a break and regroup.
00:40More than 10,000 people are expected to visit over the next three days.
00:44Some are hoping to get a glimpse of a replica of the famous Raja quilt on display for the first
00:50time.
00:50There are bloodstains still on the quilt because it hasn't been washed. The original hasn't been washed.
00:57And on the facsimile, there are still bloodstains too.
01:02The original quilt was made by convict women in 1841 during a four-month voyage to Van Diemen's land aboard
01:09the Raja.
01:10Organisers say about 15 stallholders couldn't make it here this year because there were no Spirit of Tasmania sailings in
01:17the last week.
01:17Their absence disappointed some craft fair visitors, but for others it made no difference, with one person we spoke to
01:25travelling all the way from Belgium.
01:27It has people coming from all over Australia, so therefore lots of people visiting means it probably is a fairly
01:34large boost to the local economy.
01:36Some fear a break next year could spell the end of the fair altogether, and the organisers haven't ruled this
01:42out.
01:42I completely understand why they need to make that call, but I want to work with them to try and
01:47help secure its future because it is so important to us, it is so important to the northern region.
01:52...
01:52I'm dangling the tag, actually.
